About William FitzAlan, Sheriff of Shropshire

Burke's has the William fitz Alan who married Isabel de Say, Lady of Cluny, as the son of Alan fitz Flaald and Aveline de Hesding. Other sources have him as the son of William FITZALAN (B. Oswestry) and Helen PEVERELL (b. ABT 1110).

He married, firstly, Christian (?). Children include:

Christian FitzAlan

William fitz Alan married secondly Isabel de Say Lady of Clun, daughter of Helias de Say as her first husband. She married 2) Geoffrey de Vere 3) William de Botreaux Children include:

John FitzAlan d. 1240

William fitz Alan Lord of Oswestry+1 b. c 1155, d. bt 1210 - 1211

Notes

William married 1) Christiana who died in 1153, and 2)Isabel de Say very shortly after Christiana's death. (soc.gen.medieval mail group, 2002)

Married 2: Mary ERINGTES (dau. of Thomas De Eringtes)

There seems to be conflicting data and generations from different sources.

Sheriff of Shropshire.

Burke's has William dead without issue. Burke's also has John (whom I have a son of this William) being a son of William (father of this William) who died about 1160. I think that would make John almost 100 years old when he died, therefore I am going with the usually less reliable Plantagenet Ancestry and saying John was son of this William who died 1210, whom I guess Bernard Burke (see citation below) states died about 1172 and had another son William who may have dsp 1216.

William Fitz-Alan, in the 12th Henry II [1166], upon the assessment in aid of marrying the king's daughter, certified his knights' fees to be innumber thirty-five and a half. He d. about 1172, and was s. by his son,William Fitz-Alan. [Bernard Burke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke'sPeerage, Ltd, London, 1883, p. 200, Fitz-Alan, Earls of Arundel]

The Norsworthy article is a fascinating source of genealogical data which helps to clarify the politial intrigue of the early 13th Century. It gives an intriguing perspective to John FitzAlan's feud with King John. The FitzAlans were of Breton descent and their association with the ruling family went back to the time of Henry I. At Henry's death, William FitzAlan and Walter FitzAlan, his brother, took the part of Henry's daughter Matilda against Stephen de Blois. They believed that the crown should descend by primogeniture regardless of the sex of the claimant. (Very progressive thinkers!) It is unknown where William FitzAlan was during the reign of Stephen although Eyton supposed he was in the court of the Earl of Chester. His brother Walter joined David, King of Scotland, who was uncle to the Empress. As Walter FitzAlan descended from the Stewards of Dol, he became Steward of Scotland. After Stephen's death, William FitzAlan returned to royal favor in the court of Matilda's son Henry II. However, the issue of primogeniture would again cause a rift between the FitzAlans and the ruling monarch when King John arranged for the murder of his nephew and the imprisonment of Arthur's sister Alienor who had superior claims to the throne of England. The king started by depriving William FitzAlan II of the office of Sheriff. Then, when William II died in 1210, King John awarded the custody of William's four children to Thomas de Erdington, a man he could trust. Thomas sought to neutralize the FitzAlan power by arranging the marriage of his own daughter, Mary, to William FitzAlan III. William then had the audacity to die without heirs, thus thwarting the machinations of the king and Erdington. As for the genealogy, Norsworthy had no problem in limiting the genealogy to three Williams. The first William FitzAlan and his brother Walter, were the sons of Alan FitzFlaald of Dol and his wife Aveline de Hesding. William married 1) Christiana who died in 1153, and 2)Isabel de Say very shortly after Christiana's death. William FitzAlan II, the son of William I and Isabel was born in 1154, probably when his father was in his 50's. "The date of his birth shows the reason why John FitzAlan's cousin, Walter FitzAlan II, Steward of Scotland, was able to be a grandfather in 1215, though he belonged to the same generation in line as John FitzAlan who was only just of age." William II also had children late in life as his four children were all underage at the time of his death in 1210. William FitzAlan II married "an infant daughter" of Hugh de Lacy II. This meant his sons William III and John had very powerful relatives -- the Lacys and the Clares. William FitzAlan III "never had livery of the FitzAlan inheritance, although he had done homage for it." Instead, Thomas de Erdington, as previously mentioned, incurred a huge fine in order to marry his daughter Mary to William III. William's death put quit to that scheme. So, when John FitzAlan came of age, he was a serious threat to King John. Not only did he believe John's rule was unlawful, he had extremely powerful connections, and had some scores to settle concerning in patrimony.